Odor Control for dirt run

[Chicks4fun2]

Deep litter bedding after making sure the water is drained will solve this problem.

the problem isn't in the coop... my coop is dry , its the run. the run is muddy and stinky... its mostly a large pea gravel run but in the winter its just a mess. particularly this winter... stinky! I'm worried about flies come spring... yuck! i guess that just PNW living!

 

[enola]

After making sure the water is drained, if you build a deep litter bedding in the yard, it won't smell any more.

Is that a little clearer?

 

[Chicks4fun2]

i know I've heard of the deep litter method for coops but how do you do this for entire runs? i have a 25 ft by 15 ft run? what materials do you use/ i had pea gravel as the space that is now for my chickens used to be a dog run i thought that would drain well but it turns out i was wrong....

 

[enola]

Any kind of organic substance; straw, hay, leaves, pine chips, weeds, pine needles, pine cones, sticks or twigs, trimmings from shrubs, mowed grass. All of these will cover the ground, begin to compost, attract bugs and worms and give your hens something to scratch around in.

 

[Chicks4fun2]

yes all the things you mention decompose and in our wet weather become mud! I'm afraid there isn't a good solution to keeping the run dry other than covering it ...which is not an option. our ground here just doesn't dry out till summer...so ill continue on the hunt for some way to keep the stench to a minimum...

 

[enola]

None of it can turn to mud if you prevent water from standing in the run. That much water in your run is not healthy for your chickens, I am sure you already know this. Is there any way that you can dig a ditch to drain the water away from the run?

 

[ChickNanny13]

i know I've heard of the deep litter method for coops but how do you do this for entire runs? i have a 25 ft by 15 ft run? what materials do you use/ i had pea gravel as the space that is now for my chickens used to be a dog run i thought that would drain well but it turns out i was wrong....

i know I've heard of the deep litter method for coops but how do you do this for entire runs? i have a 25 ft by 15 ft run? what materials do you use/ i had pea gravel as the space that is now for my chickens used to be a dog run i thought that would drain well but it turns out i was wrong....

Any kind of organic substance; straw, hay, leaves, pine chips, weeds, pine needles, pine cones, sticks or twigs, trimmings from shrubs, mowed grass. All of these will cover the ground, begin to compost, attract bugs and worms and give your hens something to scratch around in.

I couldn't decide on what to use in my Run/Coop, after reading about sand vs DLM, someone knowing our weather here said to go with the DLM. Here in Hilo, HI it rains a lot. So I put the Run/Coop (8x12) on high ground & pine shavings, sprinkled PDZ & DE. I'm hoping the dog house will be used as a nesting box (time will tell) the plastic tub with top soil suppse to be their dust bath but they like to sit in it. They grub in a fenced yard when I'm home. I've added more shavings since this was taken, keep adding as needed. Oh

I did on better for rain due to the Trade Winds, hung shower curtains on EMT rods completely around which I tie open in the day, close up at night. So far it's been working but we haven't had any storms yet. That will be the big test....





Last thing I added was the Poop Board, BIG PLUS! They roost at night above the house & the poop board catches all that poop. The other roost they use during the day.

 

[Chicks4fun2]

None of it can turn to mud if you prevent water from standing in the run. That much water in your run is not healthy for your chickens, I am sure you already know this. Is there any way that you can dig a ditch to drain the water away from the run?

unfortunately the run used to be a dog run so the entire perimeter has cement poured around it so the dog couldn't dig under the fence...so that could be part of the problem but its really wet everywhere...because of the gravel it feels like I'm walking on a sponge, a really really wet sponge...

 

[Chicks4fun2]

I couldn't decide on what to use in my Run/Coop, after reading about sand vs DLM, someone knowing our weather here said to go with the DLM. Here in Hilo, HI it rains a lot. So I put the Run/Coop (8x12) on high ground & pine shavings, sprinkled PDZ & DE. I'm hoping the dog house will be used as a nesting box (time will tell) the plastic tub with top soil suppse to be their dust bath but they like to sit in it. They grub in a fenced yard when I'm home. I've added more shavings since this was taken, keep adding as needed. Oh

I did on better for rain due to the Trade Winds, hung shower curtains on EMT rods completely around which I tie open in the day, close up at night. So far it's been working but we haven't had any storms yet. That will be the big test....





Last thing I added was the Poop Board, BIG PLUS! They roost at night above the house & the poop board catches all that poop. The other roost they use during the day.

I really like the shower curtain idea I might have to do that next winter....I

have a smaller predator proof run that would benefit from a little protection from the driving rains!

 

[Beekissed]

yes all the things you mention decompose and in our wet weather become mud! I'm afraid there isn't a good solution to keeping the run dry other than covering it ...which is not an option. our ground here just doesn't dry out till summer...so ill continue on the hunt for some way to keep the stench to a minimum...

It can't really turn to mud if you keep adding material. When it has turned to mud/soil, it's done composting and it's time to add new material. If you keep it a foot or more thick, you can't really hit the mud portion of it. Helps if you vary your materials so that you have things that are woodier and compost slower and things that are less woody and compost at different rates. Different particle sizes and density really helps keep air to the litter pack and using smaller particles mixed in helps the chickens move the top layer around enough to bury their own feces.

Poop that is buried is poop that no longer smells bad and it doesn't attract flies, so having enough and the right kinds of material so that the chickens can bury the poop really helps. I'd not bother with DE or PDZ...they will do nothing in an environment that damp except keep the beneficial insects and worms from helping to digest the manure.